The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea plant, botanically known as Hydrangea macrophylla and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Avantgarde’.
The new Hydrangea plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely branching Hydrangea plants with strong and sturdy stems, large inflorescences, attractive flower color and that do not require a cooling treatment for flower development.
The new Hydrangea plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in April, 2007 in De Kwakel, The Netherlands, of a proprietary selection of Hydrangea macrophylla identified as code number 206155-01, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Hydrangea macrophylla identified as code number 206014, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Hydrangea plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in De Kwakel, The Netherlands in April, 2009.
Asexual reproduction of the new Hydrangea plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in De Kwakel, The Netherlands since June, 2009 has shown that the unique features of this new Hydrangea plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.